Scoot Blog: Is Pope Francis ready to change the Catholic Church

by Scoot,posted Sep 12 2013 5:30PM

Is the Catholic Church ready to change? And will the changes bring Catholics back to the Church?

From the beginning, Pope Francis seemed eager to break some of papal traditions. As Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina, he had an image of a man who shunned the pious mentality displayed by some of his predecessors and many Catholic leaders and maintained a lifestyle that never took advantage of the lavish comfort offered to the hierarchy in the Catholic Church.

Through scandals and adhering to some traditions that seemed unreasonable in the modern world, the Catholic Church has caused an exodus of previously-devoted followers. The Church has also had difficulty in recent years attracting young men willing to enter the priesthood.

Pope Francis appears to be a pope with a moderate mentality and a willingness to place more importance on what’s right than what has been tradition. This week it was learned that Pope Francis accepted the gift of a used car that he planned to use to travel around the grounds of the Vatican, rather than always be chauffeured everywhere. But that is a minor indication that the new pope is expressing a willingness to update the Church.

The Vatican’s secretary, Archbishop Pietro Parolin – the number 2 most powerful person at the Vatican – said that the celibacy of priests is not a dogma of the church. “Celibacy is not an institution but look, it is also true that you can discuss(it) because as you say this is not a dogma, a dogma of the church,” he said in a quote to NBC.
In a 2012 interview as Cardinal in Argentina, Francis said that priests can be married and “they are very good priests.” He said, “It’s a matter of discipline, notfaith. It can change.” But he did say that he was in favor of maintaining celibacy. That was in 2012, now as pope, Francis seems to be sending a new message – the celibacy of priests is open for discussion.

Pope Francis also broke papal tradition by using the word “gay” when he said that priests should not be judged by their sexual orientation. That was a stark contrast to his predecessor, Pope Benedict, who said that homosexuality, was “an intrinsicmoral evil” and that priests with homosexual tendencies should not be priests. To be clear, Pope Francis does not support priests acting on their homosexual tendencies, but said, “Who am I to judge?” a priest who is a homosexual.

Pope John Paul II absolutely closed the door to the idea that women can become ordained priests, but Pope Francis appears to be interested in seeking a theology of women and a more dominant role for women in Catholic Church.
When Pope John Paul II became a new pope, he was young and many believed that he would strike a more moderate chord in assessing the doctrine of the Church. That never happened. Pope John Paul II proved to be a very strict, conservative pope unwilling to bend on any of the major issues that were driving Catholics from mass.

The new dialogue with Catholics that may emanate from Pope Francis should be welcomed by the millions of Catholics who have felt increasingly disenfranchised from the church. For those who will argue that the church should not change to fit the norms of a changing society – rather society should change to fit the norms of the church, acknowledge that rules often supersede the true mission or spiritual nature of an institution. The Catholic Church has changed over time from declaring that priests could no longer be married - to changing the ban on eating meat on Fridays.

Rather than view whatever changes that may result as a sign the Church is weak and unwilling to protect strict doctrine, the rules about Catholics who are divorced and re-married provides the perfect way to understand how the church can change for the right reasons as society changes.

According to the church, if you are Catholic, re-married and having intimate relations with your new wife or husband, then you are not welcome to communion – unless you have had your original married annulled.

If a married took place before the eyes of God and witnesses, the Catholic concept of annulment is exposed as a fund-raising administrative action that should be considered an insult to the God who was part of the ceremony.

Furthermore, why would the church enforce a rule that robs good Catholics of the sacrament of communion when they have made the moral and honorable decision to marry their new spouse?

Also, the vow of celibacy is very hypocritical. Today, there are Catholic priests who are married. Married Episcopal priests can convert to Catholicism and be accepted as a married Catholic priest. So, the Church does accept married priests.

There will be many strict Catholics who disagree with this pope and his openness to discussing issues that have been taboo in the church. But those were the very people who told the rest of us that whoever is pope has the final say!

The revolution that Pope Francis may start could lead to the strictest Catholics to question the church – but where are they going to go? It seems certain that any revolution in the Catholic Church will bring more people back to the church than chase people away.

And I know that many Catholics, like myself, are still waiting to hear if Pope Francis believes that Falcons fans are going to Heaven!

Scoot is still trying to convice God that anal sex between men is cool ... LOL ..

funny how arrogant punks like Scoot think God should change for them ...

09/12/2013 8:56PM

Scoot is an Obama cult member so why would he care about the Catholic

Church except Christians are the politically correct group to trash ... Scoot would NEVER trash Muslims ... they would likely kill him ... he fears that ... poor fellow.

09/12/2013 9:00PM

Christians go to heaven ... so sorry, Scoot, hell awaits you ...

it does not get better for you.

09/12/2013 9:10PM

Well Scoot going to hell is not all bad ...

he will get to meet Barrack Obama.

09/12/2013 9:12PM

Q: What's the difference between a Democrat and a trampoline?

A: You take off your shoes before you jump on a trampoline

09/12/2013 9:13PM

Q: What do you get when you cross a pilgrim with a democrat?

A: A god-fearing tax collector who gives thanks for what other people have.

09/12/2013 9:14PM

Q: What happens when you cross a pig with a Democrat?

A: Nothing. There are some things a pig won't do.

09/12/2013 9:15PM

Q: What's the difference between a dead skunk in the road and a dead Democrat in the road?

A: Vultures will eat the skunk.

09/12/2013 9:16PM

Q: What's the difference between a Democrat and a wh0re?

A: The wh0re gives value for the money she takes.

09/13/2013 9:23AM

Scoot Blog: Is Pope Francis ready to change the Catholic Church?

Scoot, you put thought into your subjects. I also attend mass weekly, and am saddened that less and less teenagers and young adults attend. I believe that Pope Francis is the right person asking the right questions at the right time. We need dialogue,we need to include and embrace and not limit and exclude.

09/13/2013 12:40PM

Scoot is an aging hippie and not someone to take serious ...

he is a radio guy filling a time slot ... nothing more.

09/14/2013 12:03PM

Pope Francis

Even though I am not a Catholic I like many of the view
points of this new pope. I agree with the former pope
who said that a person with homosexual tendencies should
not be a priest. Ask the victims of sexual abuse by a
priest what they think.

09/14/2013 9:31PM

Scoot as a loyal member of the left ... bases his whole viewpoint on lies ...

From Roe vs Wade, Matthew Shepperd and ObamaCare it is all based on lies ... Shepperd was a meth dealer that was killed by a man he had sex with. The left creates FALSE heroes ... nothing they say should be listened to.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/14/The-Matthew-Shepard-Story-is-a-Lie

09/15/2013 10:03PM

HATE is what obama is all about ... go to hell scoot!

hope obama keeps smoking ... lol

09/16/2013 11:46AM

If these comments ...

If these comments are any example of how faith-filled people dialogue, it is truly sad.